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As Kenya joins the rest of the world in marking the Sickle Cell Awareness Day, medical covers for people living with sickle cell anaemia still remains a challenge in the country.
The Nairobi-based Children Sickle Cell Foundation (CSCF) Chairperson Selina Ogweno says there are many cases where families or people have been rejected by insurance companies simply because of this congenital disease. Apparently, most companies do not have cover for such.
“One of the major dilemmas sickle cell anaemia patients face is that insurance companies have never accepted to insure them. They never give us a good reason why because HIV and cancer patients get insurance. So why can’t those with sickle cell anaemia get insured too,” she posed.
Ms Selina, whose nine-year-old son was diagnosed with the disease, says they had to cancel an insurance cover simply because they could not cover his son.
Dr Kennedy Wafula, a paediatrician at the Aga Khan University Hospital, says insurance companies no longer have to fear insuring patients with sick cell anaemia because it can be easily managed.
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